BeBop

Black Saint/ Soul Note sale at ImportCDs. Prices look okay...but what do I know? ;-)

It's a little sad to think that future generations will only be able to experience B.B. King through records and YouTube. But I'm thankful that he was once among us. RIP B.B. King

Return engagement:

Wardell hasn't been served all that well by the (fictional) books about his life/death either. I get ocassional updates on the biography, but it seems to be stalled. Until then, at least we have the website.

I've managed to catch them twice. Keep trying!

romualdo and xybert - thanks for the tips and offers of help and hospitality. Brisbane to Sydney, just 1000km? Why, in Australia, that makes you near neighbors, right? (I can remember a bike race I had, years ago, coast to coast. Long haul. Perth to Sydney, 2400 miles/3900km. Best finishers in 6 days and a few hours.) I have a feeling my friends will end up spending extra time in Noumea and Auckland, since they are relative bargains next to Sydney. Thanks again!

I wish our paths were going to cross. If you could swing by Cedar Rapids before heading east to New York, I'm pretty sure I could get the motel breakfast room for an evening concert. Unplug the Mr. Coffee and plug in the B3. Put some Hy-Vee pretzels in the bins usually filled with Frosted Flakes. I could probably get an announcement on the Kirkwood Community College jazz radio station KCCK; you're on their 2015 playlist five times. Still not sold on the idea? How 'bout this: Quilting Show this weekend! Seriously, enjoy the tour!

Anyone know anything about travel to Australia and New Zealand? I'm trying to book an anniversary trip for friends, going to Sydney and New Caldedonia (via Auckland). I'm trying to figure out - or guess at October/November seasonal hotel rates. A hotel that's AUD160 today is AUD560 in October. That's a heckuva seasonal upcharge when October isn't even high season. I'm trying to guess whether that rate is going to "stick" (too expensive) or fall (in which case I'll go ahead and book airfare). I got recruited to do this because I travel a lot. But I don't go to desireable places or, really, places with 300+% seasonal swings. Thanks

I agree. He's got about eight minutes of actual WG film to work with and he strrrrrrrrretches it for all it's worth. Some of the interviews are borderline painful - people past their "better days". Would have been more advisable to distill what they had to say, instead having them sit in real time and endeavor mightily through a thought.

Thanks for the tip, impossible. I took an easy trip down the Blue Line light rail to ManiFest. Frankly, it was disappointing vis-a-vis my most recent visit, about four years ago. About 200 new CDs; 200 used CDs. The new were all light/pop/smooth. Of the used, I'd say 194 "smooth" and 6 actual jazz. And $24 for a used 2-CD Keth Jarrett Standards Trio set (paper sleeve in iffy condition) didn't strike me as much of a bargain. The LP section seemed a little more happenin', but I can't buy LPs. (I'm traveling, so anything I buy, I listen to for a week then discard. No turntable.) I didn't do any vinyl digging. Still, the people there were nice and it got me out of the office for an hour Sunday mid-day. Nice weather too. And I like going to record stores. So, even though I came away empty-handed and full-walleted, I appreciate the suggestion.

One year later, give or take three days, back in Charlotte. Still open to suggestions.

Thank you. For others, you can also check out https://soundcloud.com/aviram-spies/blackbird-aviram-spies, a cover of the Beatles' Blackbird.

Personally, I can't taste "craft". I just try to avoid "crap".

Do you know the names Gordon, Biersch and Martin*? * Triple Rock, Big Time...from their history website: "More than 25 years after brewing their first brew, John and Reid Martin are considered "founding fathers" in the brewpub industry, and have gone on to build a small empire of award-winning brewpubs and bars in California and Washington State (Twenty Tank Brewery in San Francisco, Big Time Brewery in Seattle, Drakes Brewing Co. in San Leandro, and Jupiter in Berkeley.) Still, Triple Rock remains their favorite. "It's where real brewpub beer began in the Bay Area," says John. "We feel lucky to have been there at the beginning of the craft brewing renaissance". Some say that you can see a little of Triple Rock in almost every brewpub."

I was brew club friends with a four guys who went on to "make it big" in the first microbrew fad. Maybe I wish I'd had the foresight. (For them, it wasn't a fad; they're still going.)

There are a couple of different variations in the beer world. There are the labels wholly-owned by the majors, like the ones I mention above. There are some where the majors have a "stake out" interest (possible future acquisition): I would put Red Hook and Widmer in this category, 20 years ago anyway. The majors also do contract brewing for small shops that are growing beyond capacity, using recipes provided. When the fads wax and wane so quickly, what else can you do? I think Sam Adams does a LOT of this. Or did.

May have missed it, but didn't see mentioned one of my "Top Three" Land dates: Date: July 25, 1960 Location: Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA Label: Blue Note Harold Land (ldr), Harold Land (ts), Martin Banks (t), Amos Trice (p), Clarence Jones (b), Leon Pettis (d) a. You're My Thrill - 7:56 (Sidney Clare, Jay Gorney) b. Reflections - 6:38 (Harold Land) c. Land Of Peace - 6:13 (Harold Land) d. Blue Nellie - 4:46 (Martin Banks) e. Take Aim - 3:39 (Amos Trice) f. As You Like It - 7:09 (Harold Land) All titles on: Blue Note LP 12": LT 1057 — Take Aim Mighty Quinn CD: 09463 11991 2 7 — Take Aim (2005)

Under the term "microbrew" this same thing was rampant back during the first micro- craft- fad in the 1980s. Anheuser Busch had Green Valley and Zeigenbock (sp?) ...in addition to ownership of Red Hook and Kona and Widmer. Miller had Plank Road. Edit: Maybe it was the 90s. Anyway, long ago.

Blues legend B.B. King reports he's in hospice at Vegas home

I hope you enjoy it. I really hated to discard the CD this morning, but...well, anyway, the LP is in storage.

After a few concerts at the Keystone Korner, Rahsaan became a minor obsession for me. I picked up every LP I could find. When I gave up fixed-point living for perpetual travel, the LPs went to storage and I went MP3 by way of CDs. (A bummer in itself.) I had the Mercury Box and a set of Atlantic CDs and I've enjoyed the heck out them. A few days ago, I was in Lexington and spotted Jaki Byard Experience in a cheap CD rack. I probably haven't heard it in nearly 20 years. Damn! What a great album. Three seconds into Parisian Thoroughfare, I swimming in a pool of memories - Bud, Max and Brownie, Byrd and Jaspar - but the Byard and Kirk version is like new to me, as if I've never heard it before. Amazing what 20 years can do. For me, definitely a top Rahsaan Roland Kirk album.

Belated "best" from me too!

All the best, 2015!

Happy Birthday!

How do we know if no one was there to watch/verify? (Only kidding. Like the tree that fell in the empty forest.)